Caucus

People, Politics, Punditry

That was the message singer Carole King brought to Washington Wednesday as she joined Reps. Chris Shays and Carolyn Maloney to back the new Rockies Prosperity Act.

King, author of ``It's Too Late'' and other 1960s and '70s-era hits, wrote a new song for the press conference:

``I tell you with sincerity

In all verity

The Rockies Prosperity

Act ... is ... good.''

But hold on. Why were Shays, the congressman from Fairfield County, and Maloney, who represents some of Manhattan's swankiest East Side neighborhoods, teaming up to spearhead a drive to help the Rockies?

``A living national treasure,'' Shays called 'em. ``The Rockies Prosperity Act will help preserve our wild species, sustain American communities in five states and save tax dollars.''

That's why he's singing the same song. Shays is a longtime environmentalist and budget-cutter, and it's estimated that the act, which aims to protect the ecosystem and the economy while protecting the landscape, would save taxpayers an estimated $245 million over 10 years.

-- David Lightman

THE PRICE OF SAFETY

The Pentagon had until Feb. 25 to develop rules for reimbursing U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for protective equipment bought with personal funds.

The deadline has passed, but the Defense Department has not told the provision's congressional sponsor, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., why it has apparently not complied.

So Dodd Wednesday sent a letter to Pentagon Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

``I hereby request that you immediately inform me as to the status'' of the requirement, he wrote.

``The amendment was adopted after troubling reports surfaced that our men and women in uniform were digging deep into their own pockets or relying on charitable giving to buy such life-saving gear as bullet proof vests, vehicle armor and medical supplies,'' the senator wrote.